Posted by: John Phoenix
The regime is waging a systematic campaign to silence critics and terrorise those who dare to speak against its complicity with imperialism and zionism.
Khalil Yaqub Buhazaa, a well-known political activist, writer and researcher on working-class affairs, has been disappeared by the autocracy in Bahrain.
Comrade Khalil is currently director of labour and social development for the executive bureau of the GCC’s Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs, where he has also served as labour affairs manager and as coordinator of the GCC states group in the travaux préparatoires of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s protocol on forced labour.
With over 20 years of experience, Comrade Khalil began his career as a journalist and editor at Al-Waqt newspaper in Bahrain, where he focused on political and labour issues and served as a correspondent for various Arab and international news outlets. His areas of expertise include international labour standards, human rights principles, international humanitarian law and international criminal law.
He is a PhD researcher in modern slavery, specialising in forced labour, and holds an LLM from Liverpool John Moors university. He is also a fellow researcher and editor at the Gulf Centre for Development Policies and a member of the ILO’s migration advisory group. A former member of the migrant workers committee at the ILO’s regional office for Arab states, Khalil has also served on the legal committee for migrant workers at the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions.
Comrade Khalil has carried out extensive research into the exploitation of migrant workers in Bahrain and on the exploitative working conditions and pay of Bahraini nationals. He has been an outspoken critic of the Kafala system (essentially indentured labour), which binds migrant workers to their employers and renders them vulnerable to severe abuse.
He is a longstanding anti-imperialist, a human rights advocate, an advocate for the Palestinian cause, a firm opponent of normalisation with the zionist entity, and a committed communist. He was formerly a member of the National Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad), the country’s largest secular, leftist opposition group, which was dissolved by the Bahraini regime in October 2017.
Comrade Khalil has been arrested as a direct result of his political activism and online activity, and has not been heard from since his detention. These tactics of enforced disappearance and isolation are standard practice for a regime that rules through fear. This is part of the massive political repression campaign that has been launched in Bahrain as a result of the imperialist/zionist war on Iran.
This arrest must be understood within the broader context of intensifying repression in Bahrain. The authorities have systematically dismantled all political opposition: Wa’ad was the last major opposition group to be dissolved, following the July 2016 banning of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.
In April 2026, the regime revoked the citizenship of 69 Bahrainis under Article 10(3) of the nationality law, accusing them of “causing harm to the interests of the Kingdom” – a provision used to punish dissent that renders individuals stateless.
In November 2025, Ibrahim Sharif, former secretary-general of Wa’ad, was arrested at Bahrain international airport upon his return from the Arab National Conference, where he had urged Arab governments to support Palestine and reject normalisation. He was charged with “spreading false news on social media” and “insulting sister Arab states” – charges that criminalise nothing more than the exercise of free expression.
The situation in Bahrain is dire. The regime recently sentenced five people to life imprisonment and dozens more to ten-year terms on politically motivated charges. Dozens of social media users have been summoned, arrested or detained for expressing solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon, or for opposing US and Israeli military aggression.
At least 60 individuals, including children, were detained in March 2026 for talking part in peaceful demonstrations or for posting online. Even western NGOs like Human Rights Watch have warned that Bahraini authorities are using the cover of war to justify further violations against the population, while Freedom House has documented an environment of heavy online repression under which peaceful expression is routinely punished.
The arrest of Comrade Khalil Buhazaa is not an isolated incident. It is part of a systematic campaign to criminalise opposition, silence critics and terrorise anyone who dares to speak against the regime’s complicity with imperialism and zionism.
The CPGB-ML expresses its full solidarity with Comrade Khalil Buhazaa and with all political prisoners in Bahrain. We call on the Bahraini authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Comrade Khalil Buhazaa;
- End the persecution of all opposition activists, human rights defenders, and trade unionists;
- Respect Bahrain’s own constitution and its obligations under international human rights law;
- Halt the use of citizenship revocation as a weapon against dissent;
- Cease the criminalisation of online expression and peaceful assembly.
The right of all Bahrainis to express their views freely, to organise, and to oppose imperialism and occupation must be protected without exception.
The CPGB-ML stands shoulder to shoulder with Comrade Khalil and with the Bahraini people in their struggle for national liberation, social justice and socialism.